The public experiences digitization up close at the first Swiss Digitaltag
Under the auspices of the Digitalswitzerland location initiative and in collaboration with over 40 partner companies, the first Swiss Digitaltag took place on Tuesday.
The day of action was under the patronage of Federal President Doris Leuthard and Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann, as well as the participation of Federal Councilor Alain Berset. According to the organizers, the first Digitaltag was a great success: More than 150,000 people experienced on this day in Zurich, Geneva, Lugano, Chur and many other places in Switzerland what digitization means for our country and each and every one of us. At least as many experienced the day digitally.
The first Swiss Digitaltag is a major event that is unique in Europe. More than 40 companies and institutions demonstrated to the general public in all parts of the country what digitization means in concrete terms today and in the future, what will change at work, in mobility, in education, in the economy and in society, and what opportunities it will open up for the country.
The first Digital Day was opened by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Doris Leuthard, who traveled on the train from Bern to Zurich in specially equipped SBB digital carriages. The digital coaches ran between Geneva and St. Gallen throughout the day and were open to all passengers. In her opening speech, President Leuthard emphasized that digital networking brings great benefits to individuals, but also to business and science. And she appealed for dialog with society: "We must conduct the debate on digitization transparently in order to dispel fears."
Throughout the day, more than 100 events took place in the stations of Zurich, Chur, Geneva, Lugano and many other locations in Switzerland, bringing the population into contact with digitization. In so-called theme worlds, the consequences of digitization were explained using concrete examples, and discussions on the opportunities and risks of digitization took place at various regulars' tables.
In addition, the launch of a digital identity for Switzerland was announced as part of the Digitaltag (Werbewoche.ch reported). The "SwissID" is intended to allow people in this country to move around securely in an increasingly digital world and to use online services more easily.
In his address, Federal Councilor Johann Schneider Ammann mentioned that digitization is a decisive factor for positioning Switzerland as a research location and for the success of Switzerland as a workplace. A large part of the event, as well as the entire eleven-hour stage program at Zurich's main train station, was also distributed as live streaming via the Internet and social media.
For Marc Walder, initiator of Digitalswitzerland and president of the steering committee, the day of action was a huge success: "Three federal councillors got involved. Thousands of people took part. The day showed that the population has a great interest in helping to shape digitization and dealing with the future."
By integrating all parts of the country, it was also possible to make the national importance of digitization visible and tangible, according to the press release. Chur was an example of how peripheral regions can benefit from digitization and thus keep jobs in the region. The first Digitaltag was a major logistical event: More than 750 helpers were on duty at the stations in Zurich, Chur, Geneva and Lugano alone. (pd/hae)
